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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - NOVEMBER 12: Boston Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla looks on from the bench during the second quarter against the Memphis Grizzlies at TD Garden on November 12, 2025 in Boston, Massachusetts. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
The Boston Celtics needed a response after the disappointment in Minnesota. They found it in Cleveland, where two players changed the temperature of the game and carried Boston through a night that almost slipped away.
A second half lead that grew as large as 21 evaporated in the final minutes. Donovan Mitchell kept coming. Cleveland kept pushing. The crowd woke up. Yet Boston held on, leaving Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse with a 117–115 win built on the backs of Payton Pritchard and Jordan Walsh.
Pritchard Sets the Tone and Makes Celtics History
Payton Pritchard has had quieter nights recently. This was not one of them. From the opening tip, he played with a clarity and aggression that Cleveland never solved.
He scored Boston’s first eight points. He buried threes early. Pritchard lived in gaps. Even foul trouble could not break his rhythm. Pritchard finished with 42 points on 15-of-22 shooting and 6-of-11 from deep, a career high on the road and one of the most efficient performances of his career.
And he did it in under 31 minutes.
Only three Celtics in franchise history have ever logged 42 or more points in fewer than 31 minutes: Larry Bird (twice), Jaylen Brown and Tommy Heinsohn. Pritchard joined them tonight. That is the company he kept in Cleveland. And Boston needed every bit of it.
With Donovan Mitchell was heating up late and the lead shrinking, Pritchard answered with tough shot after tough shot, including a stepback jumper with under thirty seconds left that pushed Boston toward the finish line.
Payton Pritchard logged 42 points in less than 31 minutes tonight.
Only 3 other Celtics have accomplished that feat:Larry Bird (2X)Jaylen BrownTom Heinsohn pic.twitter.com/nZtMkxGZZd
— Taylor Snow (@taylorcsnow) December 1, 2025
Walsh Delivers the Best Game of His Young Career
Jordan Walsh did not match Pritchard’s scoring outburst. What he did was arguably just as meaningful for Boston’s larger picture.
Walsh played a career-high 38 minutes, delivering his first career double-double with 14 points (career-high), 11 rebounds (career-high), and 6 offensive rebounds (career-high). His defense, physicality and relentlessness changed the game in ways the box score only hints at.
He ripped the ball away from De’Andre Hunter for one of the biggest hustle plays of the night. He flew into offensive glass scrums. Walsh sprinted through every rotation. He kept possessions alive when Boston were stuck.
And it becomes even more impressive when you consider where he was a month ago.
Walsh opened November out of the rotation. Now he is making game-swinging plays in crunch time and starting every night. The growth is real. The confidence is growing. The trust from the staff is too. Joe Mazzulla has been pushing Walsh into bigger spots. Cleveland was the payoff.
Jordan Walsh has turned into a real NBA player overnight
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) November 30, 2025
Brown Does the Supporting Work, Simons Adds Punch
Jaylen Brown did not have the scoring night he had in Minnesota, but he steadied the game with a triple-double line and timely playmaking. His early steals created momentum, and he helped Boston keep shape during long stretches without multiple rotation players.
Anfernee Simons also gave Boston exactly what they needed in the first half, attacking gaps and scoring in bunches while Brown rested. He finished with 23 points, keeping the offense afloat during a turbulent second quarter.
On a night when the Celtics were missing Neemias Queta and Derrick White, those contributions mattered.
Final Word on the Celtics Night in Cleveland
Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty ImagesPayton Pritchard, Boston Celtics
Not every win teaches something. This one did.
Pritchard reminded the league he can swing games at a starter’s volume and make franchise history doing it. Walsh showed another leap in a month full of them. Brown filled the gaps. The rest held the rope.
The Celtics have bigger goals and a long stretch ahead without their franchise cornerstone. Nights like this are where identity forms. Where role players sharpen. Where a team figures out who it can rely on.
In Cleveland, two players answered that question loudly.